01/31/2001
Lacrosse Team Looks To Improve

Second-year head coach Brent Coye is optimistic
that he'll see good things from his 2001 Hudson Valley Community College
lacrosse squad.

"We're miles ahead of where we were last year as
far as numbers and talent," Coye said.

The Vikings sported just 11 players on last year's
roster. Lacrosse rules require 10 players to be on the field at a time
for each team; that meant Hudson Valley's bench never consisted of more
than one substitute.

The result? A 3-8 record.

"Nobody thought we would win a game, though," said
Coye, who was a member of Nazareth College's 1992 national championship
lacrosse team. Coye also was a short-stick player for the New York Saints
of the National Lacrosse League. "I was very pleased with the way things
turned out. It's a big disadvantage to have no subs. To be honest, I would
take those 11 guys, and their makeup and character, on any team I've been
involved with."

Coye should feel like he's got an army to work with
this year, though. While he did not have time to recruit his own players
before the start of the 2000 season, he spent much of the most recent off-season
doing just that. There are now 20 student-athletes playing for Hudson Valley,
including 17 Capital Region natives.

Coye, who said Hudson Valley's talent level is higher
this year than in 2000, expects big things from his four captains: newcomer
Chris Charest (Bonny Eagle), a goalie, and returnees Michael
Keneston (Bethlehem), Jeff Mathey (Scotia-Glenville) and Dom
Scialdone (Colonie).

"Dom's the glue on the offensive end of the field,"
said Coye of Scialdone, last year's team MVP and a Region III Honorable
Mention selection. Scialdone contributed 38 goals and 20 assists. "He holds
everything together. If it wasn't for him, we'd be in sorry shape."

Additionally, Coye is excited about the presence
of newcomer Matt Culotti (Guilderland). A natural defender, Culotti
transferred to Hudson Valley from Le Moyne College. In addition to playing
for Guilderland and Le Moyne, he also played in the Empire State Games.

"He's the most talented guy on the team," Coye said.
"He's pulling double duty. Not only does he play defense, he also takes
face-offs with the long stick. And he's winning about 70 percent of them.
He's the field general, the quarterback."

Coye hopes players like Scialdone and Culotti are
the start of something good at Hudson Valley. He doesn't plan on enduring
many seasons like 2000.

"I think we're going to improve on last year's record,"
Coye said. "There is absolutely no reason Hudson Valley can't compete with
the big boys. We've got first-class athletic facilities. Our hockey team
just won the national championship. Our football team is churning out Division
I players. We're clearly a top-notch athletic and academic college. There's
no reason we can't be one of the top teams down the road."

Hudson Valley Community College, located in
Troy, offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs in four academic
divisions; Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences;
and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of 30 community colleges in the State
University of New York system, Hudson Valley Community College has an enrollment
of more than 9,000 students each year, and is known as a leader in distance
learning initiatives and worker retraining.